Method of treating asparagus and kindred plants.



EDWARD G. KLINE, 0F STREATOR, ILLINOIS.

METHOD OF TREATING ASPARAGUS AND KINDREI) PLANTS.

N 0 Drawing.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 21, 1909.

Patented May 24, 1910. Serial No. 503,487.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD C. KLINE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Streator, in the county of La Salle and State of Illinois,have discovered a new and useful Method for Treating Asparagus andKindred Plants in the Bed, of which the following is a description.

The usual method of raising asparagus for the market is to set theplants in a bed of suitably prepared soil and by careful cultivationforce the growth of the plants to produce a crop of succulent and tendersprouts that are cut at suitable periods and promptly marketed. Thegreat aim is to secure a tender sprout of uniform size, form andcharacter at each cutting. Asparagus containing a large percentage ofwater requires careful handling and prompt marketing or it will rapidlydeteriorate in quality. The soil also must be carefully prepared andfertilized and suitably watered to pro duce the rapid growth necessaryto secure a superior quality of asparagus. By reason of the peculiarconditions the crop in a given district comes into the market atsubstantially the same period and the market is thus liable to beoverstocked resulting in correspondingly low prices.

The object of my improved method is to improve the quality of theasparagus, increase the yield and at the same time retard or delay thegrowth of the plants to bring the crop into the market at a time whenthe demand is somewhat greater and the prices correspondingly higher.

To this end my method consists substantially of the following steps, Iset the plants in a suitably prepared bed in the usual manner andpreferably when the plants are three or four years old and just prior toor about the time the stalks appear through the earth, I flood the bedwith a layer or sheet of water of suflicient depth to check the growthof the plants, maintaining the same for a period depending upon theconditions and circumstances in each case. In the latitude of my home,the plants begin their rapid growth about the 15th of April to about the10th of May, each year, and are cut from time to time thereafter untilthe entire crop is harvested.

I have secured satisfactory results by flooding the bed with a sheet ofwater substantially six inches deep and maintaining the same for aboutfour to seven weeks, then drawing ofi the water and thereafter proceedmgin the harvesting and marketing of the crop in the usual manner. Inpractice, however, when it is practicable I prefer to erect a suitabledike about the bed and draw the water either by gravity or by a pumpfrom a stream carrying silt and soil from the sprlng freshets, upon thebed a depth of from two to four feet or even greater depth, and maintainthe same for the desired time, which in most cases would probably bethree or four weeks. By this method the water keeps cold effectivelypreventing the growth of the plants, while the contained silt and soilare evenly deposited over the bed in a thin layer by sedimentationserving to restore, fertilize and enrich the bed. Upon draining orpumping out of the water the bed is abundantly supplied with thenecessary water contained therein, and the sunshine and highertemperature insured by the delay rapidly bring the plants to perfectionfor the cutting and marketing. In this practice I have secured goodresults by flooding the bed the latter part of March and maintaining thewater thereon for approximately two months but the time might be variedto considerable extent depending upon the particular conditions at thetime and the location of the bed.

I find in practice that by my improved method I secure a markedlyincreased yield and at the same time the sprouts are larger and moreperfect in every way. This more perfect stock coming into the market atthe time when it is not glutted readily commands a higher price and anincreased profit. It might be also noted that where there is a shortageof labor due to the crops in a particular locality arriving at aharvesting condition or for any other reason labor cannotbe procured,the time of harvesting the crop may be delayed considerable time untilthe labor can be obtained. On the other hand if help could not beprocured immediately the crop might be partially or entirely lost.

Having thus described my improved method it is obvious that the same maybe varied to a more or less extent without departing from the spirit ofmy invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The method of treating asparagus and kindred annual plants in the bed,consisting in cultivating the same in the usual manner signed my name inthe presence of two subuntil the plants begin to sprout, flooding thescribing Witnesses. bed with Water to a substantial depth, maintainingthe Water on the bed for a limited EDWARD KLINE' 5 period, and finallydrawing off the Water Witnesses:

from the bed. ELLEN G. HANSEN,

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto LLOYD TREMPER.

